By
SHANNON TONKIN

Illawarra man's remorse staves off prison

A Horsley man has narrowly escaped spending time behind bars for aggressively assaulting his partner while drunk.

Aaron Samways, 29, pleaded guilty in Wollongong Local Court to a single charge of assault occasioning actual bodily harm stemming from the October 13 incident, in which he repeatedly punched and kicked the woman.

The seemingly unprovoked assault left the victim bruised and battered.

The court heard the pair had consumed multiple drinks at Kembla Grange races in celebration of Samways' birthday, before returning home with a group of friends that evening.

The woman was socialising with the group outside the home when a friend informed her Samways had punched a hole in the wall inside.

The woman went down the road to purchase some soft drink in a bid to allow Samways to "cool down", police facts tendered to the court said.

When she returned she found Samways in the couple's bedroom and joined him, prompting the group to leave a short time later.

Police say Samways, of Herriott Crescent, and the woman then left the property and began walking down the street, where Samways grabbed the woman, threw her to the footpath and verbally abused her.

He then started kicking the woman in the body, causing her to curl up and place her hands over her face for protection.

When she tried to get up off the ground Samways punched the woman three to four times before placing his right foot on the woman's head and saying: "I should just squash you".

The couple then returned to the home.

The woman reported the matter to police the following day.

Officers noted she had bruising under her left arm and around her thigh and buttock area and redness under her eye.

Samways was arrested three days later.

Facing court yesterday, Samways confessed he had been intoxicated at the time and did not remember anything about the attack, but said he was extremely remorseful.

Magistrate Mark Douglass revoked Samways' bail part-way through the sentence hearing and ordered that he be taken into custody and placed in the holding cells below the court, admitting he was considering giving him a full-time jail sentence.

When the hearing eventually resumed, magistrate Douglass agreed to suspend Samways' 14-month jail sentence after hearing his remorse first-hand and his pledge to continue counselling.

"I accept [the assault] was spontaneous and not planned," he said noting it appeared out of character.